In an effort to keep themselves atop the Premier League, powerhouse clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City are targeting some young names outside of England as the summer transfer window approaches. The rumors surrounding these two have been plentiful.
Chelsea sits comfortably in first place with 76 points and leads second-place Arsenal by 10 with just about a month of action remaining. However, manager Jose Mourinho is still keen on adding talent on July 1 and their top hopeful acquisition is currently playing in Italy.
"Chelsea have identified Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi as one of their main summer targets, sources have told ESPN FC," writes Miguel Delaney. "...there has been initial contact between the London club and Inter over the 22-year-old, who has scored 16 league goals in 29 games so far this season, although Chelsea are looking at a few options."
This comes as the team is dealing with injuries to Diego Costa and Loic Remy, while Mourinho acknowledged the team would have to adjust their game plan with Didier Drogba playing up front on a consistent basis. As a result, it appears the club is looking to avoid having to adjust their strategy and instead add youth and depth to an ailing offensive cast.
As for Manchester City, it's been speculated big changes are on the way as Manuel Pellegrini's club has fallen to fourth place after just five wins in their past 16 matches. Despite still leading fifth-place Liverpool by seven points, Pellegrini's job could be in danger, but that isn't the latest rumor involving Man City.
Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is expected to be a hot commodity once the summer window opens on July 1 and the 23-year-old could leave the Bundesliga, especially if his current club fails to qualify for next year's Champions League and fails to win the Europa League.
"I have met the people from Manchester City and we know each other," De Bruyne's agent, Patrick De Koster, told The Guardian. "I've never spoken to anyone from Manchester United but a lot of other clubs have been in touch to find out some general information."
That "general information" could be De Bruyne's price tag, which was set at €24 million when Wolfsburg purchased the midfielder from Chelsea. De Koster noted he can "see it being a lot more than that" this summer if other clubs were to seriously inquire about his client.
Midfielders Yaya Toure and Frank Lampard could be gone after the season, so it's no surprise Man City is targeting a young replacement.
"For the moment, there are no formal discussions," added De Koster. "Of course in the next few weeks I will be going around the world to talk about the situation with Kevin but this is just informal information."
We'll be keeping an eye on these developments as we approach July 1.
